Spiral Illusion
by Sillusion
Summary: To give Naruto a fighting chance of becoming Hokage and to save the Leaf, Sarutobi lifts Naruto's Academy Records. He changes them. And by doing so, he creates the strongest user of Genjutsu that Konoha will ever see. Full summary inside. HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**‡**

**Summary: ****Sarutobi has an epiphany the day Itachi leaves Konoha. He is busy thinking of who could manage to defeat the crazed owner of the Sharingan. When all of a sudden... It hits him. The last being that could halt shinobi in their tracks? Kyuubi. He felt satisfied, knowing that he could entrust the future Hokage the job of annihilating the most dangerous criminal Konoha has ever seen. He lifts Naruto's file from the Academy Records. He changes them. And by doing so, he creates the strongest user of Genjutsu that Konoha will ever see.**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned Naruto, would you believe me? Well, maybe if Sasuke used some of his Mind-Hax on you. I don't own it.**

Authors Note: Well, this fic received the most votes in my poll so far. Enough responses will form a fully-fledged fic. I'm keener on the first runner-up in the poll anyway. If you haven't already, please vote on the poll in my profile. Then review my latest creation.

**‡**

The Third Hokage was an old man. Over the years, he had weakened gradually in physical prowess, but his mental state had hardened into a wisened and intricate trap. Such a brain was beneficial to the Ninja Village known as the Leaf; and it was most definitely beneficial to one: Uzumaki Naruto. The host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Of course, being a "host" to a demon fox wasn't as pleasant as it sounds. "Host" is a glamorised way of being called a tool. Which is a Ninja's primary job. Naruto's effectiveness as being the warden to the prisoner known as the Nine-Tailed Fox was great. He had been a sharp tool. His effectiveness was so great, in fact that the Third Hokage had thus far not interfered with Naruto's life.

He had let the boy continue to be a bumbling, clumsy mess of a Ninja.

Of course, this was set to change today.

The Third Hokage was currently occupying the space in front of the file cabinet within the Academy. Checking Naruto's records, he could see that the boy held little promise as a Ninja. The little bundle of sun kissed joy was the Dead last of the class by far, showing only grandeur in his Demon-influenced stamina. Of course, the Demon had affected Naruto's control of his chakra. This led the boy to fail at an immense amount tasks within the Academy. But Naruto is never one to help himself. The boy is lazy. He doesn't work.

This would have to change today.

Hours ago, the Hokage had set up the assassination of the entire Uchiha clan. Itachi, the heir to that very clan had delivered in his role as a tool. But now, Itachi was stuck deep within the dastardly deeds of the Akatsuki: A group of Ninja, each at the level of Kage. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi knew he would be pushed to defeat a single one of them at this age, but he would die trying if he had to.

After all, they were targeting that "little bundle of sun kissed joy".

* * *

  
_"Neh, Old-man! I'm gonna take the mantle of Hokage. Just you wait!"_

* * *

Well… Sun kissed joy was being kind to the tenacious and brash Ninja-in-training. But even so, Sarutobi felt that Naruto so-deserved the mantle of Hokage after all of the child's suffering. The boy had been rudely ignored by the village that he had vowed to serve and love, and it was a bitter price to pay for keeping the village safe from a beast such as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

And this… Would change today.

He let his hands trace the page of Naruto's report.

NARUTO UZUMAKI TO BE ENTERED AS A GENIN. CLASSIFIED AS BERSERKER.

A Berserker Ninja? Clever. The Academy Instructors would like it if Naruto was left as a Berserker. After all, they were always the first Ninja to make a mistake. The first Ninja to die, to be left headless in a bloody heap.

The Hokage had other plans. Naruto would use his head. Naruto would think ahead. Naruto would become Hokage.

But how to do this? Sarutobi let his mind wander to tactics and war. Their newest and oldest enemy was Madara Uchiha. The same man that Itachi was currently "serving" under. Sarutobi would do his best to try to bring Itachi back. He would do his best to stop Madara from taking Naruto.

But the Uchiha was another well equipped tool. His Sharingan could create a forceful illusion technique to render the enemy insane. His Sharingan could copy each and every technique. His Sharingan could predict movements. There was also the rumour that the man could become incorporeal at will.

If the Hokage wanted Naruto to be able to protect himself, he needed to be able to do more than physical damage. He needed Naruto to be proficient in illusionary techniques.

His hand traced the page of Naruto's report again. A soft glimmer left his finger as Sarutobi used chakra to move the ink. He gave a satisfied grin. Naruto would hopefully be alright.

NARUTO UZUMAKI TO BE ENTERED AS A GENIN. CLASSIFIED AS ILLUSION SPECIALIST.

And Sarutobi knew just the teacher which Naruto should receive.

**‡**

"Hmm? There seems to be a change in the Teams. Class, would you wait for a moment? I need to go and see the Hokage." Iruka, the Academy Professor said, amid the din of the classroom. He stood at average height with his brown hair tied back in a ponytail, with a long scar that crept horizontally above his nose.

The resident brainiac Sakura, a pretty pink-haired girl with a penchant for both knowledge and gossip shared a look with her rival, another girl named Ino who matched Sakura in beauty and in skill as a Ninja every step of the way. The bubblegum Ninja-in-training hated this, but gossiped with her peer anyway.

"Did you see Iruka's face? Something bad must have happened to cause an unbalance in the teams!" She said in a voice that managed to carry all around the classroom.

"Ohh. You think so? I wonder what it could be." Ino responded with bewilderment. Her father had told her what to expect of today's event. This wasn't what he had prepared her for.

The class of Ninja were waiting to be assigned their Genin teams. They were a class of thirty, which would be split into ten equal teams of three. These teams would be equal in number, but also power and skill.

"You know what? The only thing I could think of is Naruto's presence today! He didn't pass yesterday's exam after all, and he came in with his forehead protector." Sakura pieced together carefully. She shot Naruto a look of wonder before she glanced back at Ino. "I wonder what the Dead last could do to unbalance a team."

"Maybe he _just_ graduated, but still sucks _so_ much that they need to put him on the team with the strongest two in the class? That could unbalance the teams." Ino sniped with glee. Naruto was the class's punching bag. Rudeness and bullying when related to him were not uncommon. The two tittered for a moment.

"Maybe. But wouldn't that mean he'd be with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura wailed, "If we want to be teamed with Sasuke, we'll have to be teamed with him. Naruto."

"Hm, I wouldn't mind. After all, it's not _me_ that Naruto has an epic crush on." Ino said with the grin of a Cheshire cat.

Sakura slammed her head on the table with a loud 'clunk' in a sulk.

**‡**

Iruka took two steps at a time as he ran up the circular building known as Hokage Tower. The Hokage's office was, as logically it would be, at the very top.

He rapped on the door with his knuckles urgently, and was given the order to "enter."

He shot into the room like a rocket, before composing himself.

"Hokage-sama, why do you have Naruto on Kurenai Yuuhi's team? You know hers' is a team meant to be for tracking and identification." Iruka interrogated, his mother-hen nature obvious to Sarutobi.

The Third withheld a grin, he was happy that Iruka cared so much for Naruto. "I understand your concern, but there is no mistake. I intend him to be trained by Kurenai. She will be good for him."

"Oh? And the _legendary _Kakashi Hatake would not be able to teach Naruto to your satisfaction?" Iruka challenged, his expression hardening.

"Iruka? Is this an accusation that I don't want what is best for Naruto?" The Third responded dangerously. "You shouldn't forget your place, _Chunin_."

"Just because I am of low rank, does not mean that my point is valid, honourable Hokage-sama." Iruka persisted, being sure to show the right amount of respect for a man as feared as the 'God of all Ninja.'

"That is true Iruka. I commend you on your logic." The Hokage said with a nod before resting his chin on his interlocked hands. "I believe that Naruto, while not showing promise in illusions or tracking, would be a perfect illusionary specialist."

"But if he shows no promise…"

"Naruto shows promise in nothing." The Hokage stopped Iruka in his tracks. "He is seemingly capable of using Forbidden techniques to great success. I plan to train him in those arts, and in sealing later on _myself_."

Iruka nodded dumbly. "So you will be prepping him to become Hokage? Just as Naruto says he wants to be?"

"That is correct. Naruto has endured many hardships, and if he is prepared to work hard I will work him to the bone if I have to. He will become Hokage." Sarutobi trailed off suddenly, remembering another factor of the boy's training. "And if I am to pass away, then I would like for one of my students to continue training him in this manner."

"Is that so?" Iruka stammered, thrown off his balance. 'Naruto is to be trained by the infamous Sasuke Sarutobi and one of the Three Great Ninja?'

"It is so. Now I believe you are required to continue assigning the Teams?" Sarutobi intoned lightly, while handing Iruka a note. The tanned man accepted it with shaking hands.

"Yes Hokage-sama!"

**‡**

Iruka had returned to the classroom in moments through the use of a teleportation technique. "Class be quiet." He said loudly in a voice that offered no excuse. The room of children hushed in a moment, and he read the note carefully.

YOU ARE TO TRAIN NARUTO IN BASIC TECHNIQUES THAT HE SHOULD HAVE LEARNT WITHIN THE ACADEMY. YOU WILL BE REMOVED AS THE ACADEMY INSTRUCTOR WHILE YOU DO THIS, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE TRIPLE YOUR SALARY. INFORM BOTH NARUTO AND KURENAI OF THIS. YOU WILL MEET WITH HIM EVERY MORNING BEFORE HIS TEAM MEETING.

Iruka nodded once he had read the note over, and he lifted the Team assignment sheet to eye level.

"I will start with Team One. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. You will be trained under Illusionary Specialist: Kurenai Yuuhi."

Naruto's soft blue eyes widened. 'I'm with Sakura-chan!'

Sakura's gleeful green eyes widened. 'I'm with Sasuke-kun!'

Sasuke's harsh onyx eyes widened. 'I'm with two losers!'

Iruka stifled a laugh at Sasuke's annoyance, and continued on. "You are to meet Kurenai within ten minutes at the top of the Hokage Monument. Go. She hates tardiness."

Naruto leapt out of his chair with a salute. "We'll seeya later Iruka-sensei! Let's go Sakura-chan, Sasuke!" He sprinted from the room, while the other two in his team gave each other a look of pure annoyance. They trailed out after him at a slower pace, fully aware that it would take only a few minutes to reach the monument.

"Team Two will be Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka." The two boys mentioned first grinned at each other, happy with their placement. They had been best friends for years after all. The blond girl on their team however was furious, and already beginning a tirade.

"Iruka-sensei!" The girl screeched, almost foaming at the mouth "how could you put me with the lazy idiot and the fatass?!"

The tanned man felt waves of sympathy for the girl, but put on his stern voice. "Ino, calm down. Apologise to your new teammates as they did not deserve such comments. You three will have to try your best to progress as Ninja."

Ino bowed her head in a moment of shame, and Iruka continued.

"The three of you will be trained under the Ninja technique Specialist: Kakashi Hatake, he will meet you here soon enough." Iruka said, before beginning on the next Team so there was no room for argument. "Team Three will consist of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. You will be led by the Combat Specialist Gai Maito."

The three ninja mentioned each checked the others' expression curiously, each of them unfamiliar with the other.

"Team Four will be made up of…" Iruka continued on with slightly less enthusiasm. The rest of the teams would never make it to Genin. This much he knew.

**‡**

Naruto leapt up the rocky terrain of the dirt-path that led up to Hokage Mountain. Upon this mountain, each of the past Hokage had their faces carved into its' jagged surface to gaze upon the village of Konoha forever. Naruto could see a faint figure standing near the edge of the mountain with it's back turned.

"Hey, Kurenai-sensei?!" He called out with gusto, hoping to catch her attention before the intelligent Sakura, and the talented Sasuke. He was sure that his orange coloured clothes would catch her eye first.

The figure turned to face him, and he could tell that it held a grin upon their face. As he approached with his sprint slowing to a steady jog, Naruto recognised the figure as a beautiful woman. She stood before him with superior height, pale skin and ebony hair that was kept at an unruly shoulder length. She appeared to be wearing a dress that was seemingly made up of medical gauze around her chest, which faded into a deep red that matched her blazing crimson eyes.

"You're early, Naruto Uzumaki-kun." She said playfully, humour clear in her voice. "Where are your teammates?"

"They're bringing up the rear, Kurenai-sensei!" The boy said with a salute.

"That's fine. I can feel them approaching at a slow pace. But this gives me a chance to talk to you anyway. I'm glad." She said sincerely, sitting on the mountain's edge. "You painted this very monument a few days ago didn't you?"

"Yup Kurenai-sensei. I decided that the mountain didn't have enough colour! It needed much more!" He said with a happy nod.

"Naruto, you need to understand something." Kurenai said her tone clearly reluctant. "As my pupil, you are not to behave in the manner of an Academy student. You are to act as a Ninja. Do you know the expectations of a Ninja?" She asked him.

"Expectations… of… Ninja… Oh! You mean how Ninja should never shed tears and junk like that?" The boy said distastefully.

"Partly. I mean that you must act professionally and proudly as a Ninja of the Leaf village." She said patiently, "look upon your teammates as examples of this. Behave courteously, kindly and patiently. I will make sure to give you a scroll that details what I mean, but I recognised that writing it down would not be as clear as to verbalise it."

Naruto's eyes showed confusion, but Kurenai paid it no mind. She let him absorb the information and she understood enough to wait in silence. After a minute or so, Naruto seemed to have understood, and he told her as much: "I get it Kurenai-sensei."

"I am glad, Naruto-kun." She said with a nod to him, "ah, your team approaches. Naruto, you should stand and go to meet them. Apologise for racing off without them, and introduce me as Kurenai Yuuhi."

Naruto blinked in bewilderment. "Why should I do that?"

"You should apologise because as a Team you are meant to take assignments such as this: Meeting your teacher; together. You should have _all_ ran here, or all walked." Kurenai chided him lightly. "And you should introduce me, as you are the only person that knows each of us."

Naruto nodded, and he bounced off to speak to his Sakura-chan and Sasuke. Kurenai watched from a distance as Naruto stopped directly in front of the two, and spoke loudly with dreadful motions of his hand. 'No matter, that is what makes Naruto, Naruto. He can behave as he likes socially as long as it does not reflect badly upon the Leaf. He's definitely an intriguing boy.'

Naruto dragged the two over to her by their wrists and Kurenai watched him wearily.

"This is Kurenai-sensei! Kurenai-sensei, meet Sakura-chan and Sasuke!" Naruto spoke grandly, gesturing wildly.

"Pleased to meet you." Kurenai said with an inclination of her head, as the two said the same.

"We all make up Team One!" Naruto yelled, "Yeah!"

Sakura's patience was running short. Sasuke was being rewarded with a headache.

"I must ask you two to apologise to Naruto now that you have arrived, then to apologise to _me_." Kurenai said politely, taking a seat once more.

"Why should we apologise?" Sasuke asked rebelliously. "We've not done anything wrong yet."

"You both walked without Naruto. While he may have shot off without you, you should have followed him to ensure he arrived with you. I will not speak to you individually, and the sooner you behave as a team, the sooner you can begin to work as a Solo-Ninja." Kurenai said carefully, knowing of Sasuke's short fuse.

"Fine. We apologise." Sasuke said coldly.

"But Kurenai-sensei, only an idiot couldn't have found you here. Why should we have to _baby-sit_ him?" Sakura demanded as Naruto looked slightly crestfallen at the words used.

"Naruto is the Dead last, correct?" Kurenai said with mirth causing Naruto to squint at her in anger. "According to the Academy, he _is_ an idiot." Sakura giggled at this, while Sasuke smirked. "-But the grades from the Academy mean nothing here. I know that you will all work hard, and that one day you could call each other friends and work well together." Naruto smiled slightly, knowing that Kurenai was willing to help him progress to become Hokage.

"Right!" The three children said, determined.

"Oh, Naruto? You have a note tagged to your arm." Kurenai pointed out, seeing a yellow slip of paper pinned to his jumpsuit.

"Ah?" Naruto unfolded said note, and read it before passing it to Kurenai. After it had been read through, she nodded to Naruto and looked upon the three as a whole.

"We are to meet every morning at nine in order to train. We will be training hard in order to progress as both a team and a ninja, while taking low-class missions to earn money. Depending on our progress you will take the Chunin exams within a year. These exams, upon passing, will enable you to take higher ranked missions and expand your horizons as Ninja." Kurenai said with a speech Sakura was sure the woman had practiced.

"Other teams would be doing an initiation exam to make sure they have the potential to be great Ninja. However I can tell you are destined for great things." She smiled at them all again. "We will meet everyday right here. You are dismissed, but I suggest that the three of you go out to eat together and then take part in a training session in order to help your teamwork to grow."

Naruto stood up eagerly at this, and saluted her: "Right, Kurenai-sensei! So would the two of you like to go to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop?"

Sasuke gave the boy a withering look, and then turned away from the group. "I'll pass on the meal. And on the training. It's better to train alone, when you're training to kill." He left the area in a flurry of leaves as Naruto turned to Sakura.

The girl gave him a strained smile, "As Sasuke's not going, it'd be a waste of time. We should all go out together. Maybe tomorrow?"

Naruto forced a smile, disappointed. "Right." The girl left without another word, chasing after Sasuke. Kurenai watched as Naruto's shoulders slumped, and he left to eat alone.

"Naruto, after you've eaten I still suggest that you train. Maybe on your own, or possibly with Iruka, and if you like _I_ could train with you." Kurenai said, with soft eyes. She had seen him grow up alone, she couldn't let this continue.

"Right, Kurenai-sensei! Where could I find you?" He replied with delight, finally granted acknowledgement.

"Here is my address," she said handing him a slip of paper "I trust you won't take long. I will prepare a pack for the two of us to train this evening."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei!"

* * *

'Being with a team like this… Will this really help me to achieve my goal? Will this really help me to kill Itachi?'

"Sasuke-kun!" He heard Sakura's voice from across the clearing. Sasuke turned to face her; with the same withering look he gave Naruto.

"Sakura."

"I was wondering if you would get something to eat with me?" The girl stammered nervously with a blush that could only match her hair.

"If you have time for fraternisation, then you have time to practise your Ninja techniques. I won't date a weak girl Sakura; you should know that to recreate the Uchiha clan, I will need a strong woman who can bear my children." Sasuke voiced bitterly, "You are not strong. As Ninja, we need to work hard. If you don't get stronger, you will hold me back. We could all die."

"Then I'll get stronger for you, Sasuke-kun." She replied happily. "You know I would do anything for you."

Sasuke eyed her lightly, and she blushed. "You shouldn't say such things. You never know when someone will take you up on your naive offers."

Sakura nodded, and left him. She left considering a training schedule and what she should train first.

'Maybe I'll take Naruto up on his offer...' She thought playfully, 'I don't think it could hurt. Unless he talks.'

**‡**

Kurenai sat on a floor cushion in front of her tea-table. She had prepared a third pack as she sensed Sakura moving towards Naruto's chakra signature. The boy had already been progressing towards Kurenai's humble abode, and she had written up the scroll she had promised him.

She glanced at the last line she had written.

WHILE A NINJA SHOULD SHED NO TEARS, THEY ARE NOT TO BEHAVE WITHOUT EMOTION. EMOTIONS CARRY A NINJA'S POWER. PASSION, ANGER AND LOVE CAN BE USED AS A TOOL.

She smiled lightly, and wrote the last phrase she had planned, before embellishing the scroll with her signature.

SERVE, PROTECT AND LOVE YOUR VILLAGE.

She wrapped it with a fine red ribbon, before setting it inside a hard container. She had read how clumsy the boy was, and she planned to carve him into a diamond. He would be hard and durable.

"Kurenai-sensei!" She heard the boy call, knocking on her door like he wanted to punch a hole through it.

"Shut up Naruto! You might embarrass her! Her neighbours can hear you, loudmouth!" Sakura's reprimand rang through her apartment. Kurenai felt herself smile. These kids would be good for her, and there was no doubt that they would go far.

**‡**


	2. Chapter 2

**‡**

**Summary: Sarutobi has an epiphany the day Itachi leaves Konoha. He is busy thinking of who could manage to defeat the crazed owner of the Sharingan. When all of a sudden... It hits him. The last being that could halt shinobi in their tracks? Kyuubi. He felt satisfied, knowing that he could entrust the future Hokage the job of annihilating the most dangerous criminal Konoha has ever seen. He lifts Naruto's file from the Academy Records. He changes them. And by doing so, he creates the strongest user of Genjutsu that Konoha will ever see.**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned Naruto, would you believe me? Well, maybe if Sasuke used some of his Mind-Hax on you. I don't own it. **

Previously: Sandaime changed Naruto's records, assigning him, Sakura and Sasuke to tutelage under Kurenai Yuuhi the Illusionary Expert. Naruto was given a training itinerary by Iruka- the two would train every morning before practice with Kurenai. Sakura found a new motivation to train and grow stronger. Sasuke decided it would be best to go it alone.

‡

Naruto rubbed the sleep from his eyes lazily with his right hand, before letting his left hand thump the ancient alarm clock that sat on his bedside table.

"BEEEEPBEEEEPBEEE-"

The blond yawned as he lifted himself from his springless mattress, and he brushed his light sheets off of his body. Still rubbing at his eyes, he rolled off of the side of his bed and stood up straight. He yawned and stretched, tired tears emerging from their ducts. The wanna-be Hokage scuffed the salty water from his face with grim determination.

He discarded his pyjamas, letting them drop to the floor before marching into the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. The time was 07:31, and the sun had crept through Naruto's large windows hours ago.

He turned the shower on before waiting patiently for the water to warm. He tested it with his hand once, feeling it was cold, before drying his hand on a towel he kept handily on the floor. He waited patiently for a minute or so before trying again. The water was still cold.

Must be another problem with the boiler. He would tell the Superintendent about his problem after he had a freezing shower. He grit his teeth together.

"I'm goin' in."

‡

Sakura brushed her silky pink hair from her face as she emerged from her slumber. Her mother had called into her minutes ago, telling her she needed to "go buy some flowers for Grandma's grave." Sakura grumbled, not feeling guilty in the least.

Her Grandmother was a horrible woman.

But that was okay. She wasn't buying the flowers to please her Grandmother, just her mother. She pinned her hair to the side of her head, noticing it sticking outwards at a strange angle, and she scowled. She liked to have her hair the same everyday. If it were any different, there was a chance that someone wouldn't like it.

The pin was purple in colour, meaning that it clashed with Sakura's usual red dress. With a groan, the girl hopped into the bath her father had prepared for her and relaxed for a few minutes. The time was 07:47, and the sun had beamed through her bedroom window to reveal swirling dust within the ornately decorated room.

Sakura rubbed the suds from her body and stood up from the bathtub, gripping a towel and wrapping it around herself. She bounced out of the bath and looked at her reflection in her en-suite bathroom's mirror. The pinkette slid a hand into a pot of face cream before rubbing it over her forehead, then her cheeks. She pulled her pastel pink toothbrush from her bathroom cabinet and sighed, before doing the tedious task of brushing her teeth.

‡

Sasuke brushed the sweat from his forehead before it slipped into his eyes. The time was 08:03. The raven haired boy had been doing his daily target practice for half an hour. He decided to give it one last try. He slung a kunai from his pouch, quickly darting out another, and another. Each of the kunai struck the centre of targets placed around the wooded training field. He tossed two more, one pistolled upwards, and the other rocketed into it's side to hit the hardest target on the other side of a tree, at it's very base. The kunai bounced off each other unremarkably, hitting no targets, and the Uchiha yelled in frustration.

"I need to do this! Until I have completed this task, Itachi will be forever from my reach!" He told himself, collecting the kunai sullenly.

From the top of the tree, Kurenai watched Sasuke with a frown. 'Perhaps I can get some help for him.' She thought, knowing full well that her boyfriend was tutoring a Weapons Specialist.

A girl that supposedly never misses a target.

‡

Naruto shot down the stairs of his apartment block in a fluster. His first day of private tutoring, and he was late? 'How is this even possible?' He moaned internally, hurdling over a sleeping dog in the hallway. He looked at the sun through one of the hallway's large open windows. 'Okay, it's about ten past eight. Hopefully Iruka won't be too pissed off.'

The demon-host shot through the already bustling town of Konoha, it's inhabitants setting up shop outside for the early morning market. He took off down a side ally, knowing that it would take longer. 'The people in that market… All of them see me as the Fox.' He thought bitterly, before scaling the wall of a building on his left and leaping over the roofs.

He was headed to meet Iruka-sensei at Training ground 1 to receive tutoring that would help his base skills. Luckily for him, Iruka was his closest friend and he would undoubtedly be kind to the young blond.

"NARUTOOOO!" The boy winced. Iruka was definitely pissed.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, I'll be on time tomorrow!" The boy blabbered out, "There was a black cat crossing my path, my alarm clock broke, I had to help an old granny with her shopping!"

Iruka's annoyance grew. "Naruto?"

"Yeh?"

"Shut up."

"Yes sir."

‡

Kurenai watched Naruto's conduct with a mixture of dread and exasperation. 'Stupid boy…' She thought with endearment. 'Although, it's not like he's had any role model. I shouldn't be too harsh on him.'

"Iruka-sensei, I don't get what tree climbing will do for us!" Naruto whined pitifully, making both the Chunin and the spying Jounin wince.

"Naruto! I explained it to you before. It enhances your use of chakra, and it brings up your control." The instructor said before demonstrating once more.

"But what use would it have as a ninja?" Naruto said sullenly, kicking a rock away from his feet. "Why should I learn this, and not some kick-ass ninja technique?"

"Don't question me, or my teaching methods. You and I don't have the time to be doing this Naruto! Why are you fighting against me? I am trying to help you. Listen to me, and do as you're told!" Iruka snapped, his voice raising with his anger.

"… Fine." Naruto said, before channelling the energy through to the soles of his feet and walking up the base of the tree. Before falling down again after two steps.

"Test your chakra, every time you step you need to keep in mind the surface of the object, then you need to regulate your chakra to match it according to the reaction you receive." Iruka lectured, writing in a scroll, while sitting down under the shade of a tree opposite the blond boy.

Naruto was struggling. Kurenai frowned. The academy instructor knew the technical aspects of the tree-walking exercise, but teaching it to Naruto seemed beyond him.

Iruka sighed dismally. 'At this rate we'll be here all week.' Kurenai gave Iruka a glimpse of disapproval, before dropping down in front of him. She was clearly not pleased.

"Iruka, pleased to see you." The red-eyed Jounin said in a clipped tone, her annoyance clear.

"Hello Kurenai-sensei," Iruka greeted, continuing to write in the scroll.

"Iruka, I'm here to speak to you about your teaching methods." Kurenai said bluntly, and quietly as Naruto noticed nothing and continued to train.

‡

Sakura arrived at the training spot half and hour earlier than planned. It was 08:30, and she was the only person that had arrived. She knew Naruto wouldn't get there to prepare, but she had thought that at least Sasuke-kun would be there early!

She sat down under the shade of a picturesque small tree, and brought out the scroll Kurenai had prepared for her the day before. Her bright jade eyes sought out phrases on the scroll which could be remembered due to their importance, such as: A NINJA MUST NEVER SHOW THEIR BACK TO THEIR ENEMY, A NINJA MUST ALWAYS BE PREPARED, A NINJA MUST ALWAYS CONSERVE THEIR CHAKRA, A NINJA MUST NEVER SHOW THEIR EMOTIONS, A NINJA MUST NEVER LET DOWN THEIR GUARD…

Sakura memorised them putting her photographic memory to good use. Before she came across a phrase that Kurenai-sensei had highlighted just for her.

A NINJA MUST BE COURTEOUS AND FRIENDLY TOWARDS THEIR COMRADES.

Sakura's eyes softened as she thought of Naruto and Sasuke-kun. And how she was only courteous and friendly towards one of them.

But Sakura had done nothing wrong. 'Kurenai just doesn't understand how annoying, idiotic and frustrating Naruto is!'

‡

"Iruka, I understand it perfectly!" Kurenai responded through gritted teeth, "however your teaching is not helping Naruto! It might help others his age, but he clearly is not responding through these methods. Try explaining to him! Try it differently!"

"I didn't ask for this job Kurenai," Iruka retorted hotly "I only accepted because Hokage-sama gave me no other option."

"So you don't care if Naruto can defend himself or not?" Kurenai said disappointed, 'I'd hoped I could count on him.'

"Of course I do!" Iruka denied, "are you insinuating that I don't care about Naruto?"

"The way you spoke to him doesn't show your care for him! You put him back into the Student-Teacher relationship that you've always had. The reason the Hokage picked you was because he trusts you, not because the Hokage thought you should keep yourself distanced from Naruto!"

* * *

_"Neh, Iruka-sensei, are you going to buy me ramen now?"_

* * *

Iruka's eyes softened, and grew misty.

* * *

_"I don't have anyone waiting at home for me anyway, ner!" The blond retorted, blowing a raspberry at him._

* * *

"Naruto wants a friend Iruka, you're being…" Kurenai was beginning to get red in the face, something that was uncommon for her, "you're being…" she could only think of the young boy, who solely desired acknowledgement and bonds of friendship. "You're being stupid."

Iruka looked surprised. His surprise steadily grew into a wide smile that ran parallel with the scar that marked him as the sunny-carefree teacher of Konoha's Ninja Academy. "I'm so glad Naruto found you, Kurenai."

Kurenai could only smile back at him, while Naruto slipped off the trunk of the tree once more with an "Ouch!"

‡

Sasuke walked steadily through the sunny street of Konoha, his hands in his pockets and a frown etched onto his face.

"Good morning Uchiha-sama!"

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!"

"Nice to see you, Sasu-chan!"

His frown withered into a look of disgust as he took in the simpering of Konoha's populace. That crowd was just waiting, waiting to strike at him when he was most vulnerable.

They wouldn't damage him like Itachi did. They were after him for reputation's sake, and for financial gain. The old women would try to marry him to their ugly fat daughters, and the girls his age would swoon and whine as they always did. As they always would.

Sasuke slipped into a dark alleyway to escape their eyes. They didn't see him as Sasuke. Each and everyone of them saw him as the "last Uchiha." The boy that needs saving.

He snorted humourlessly, hopping up onto a fire escape before leaping to the top of the building with a series of smooth jumps. 'I'm the best of our graduating class, I hardly need saving.' He looked out over the bustling town, and over to the trees east of the town centre. His team was probably waiting. Well, Kurenai and Sakura at least. Naruto was probably late.

He pounced to the next roof, and the one after that. 'Hopefully Naruto won't hold me back.' He thought dismally as he considered his team. Sakura would hopefully have her uses due to her intellect, and Iruka said that Kurenai was an Illusionary specialist. 'The Uchiha clan's Sharingan is capable of casting off illusions with relative ease. Kurenai will help my growth.'

Sasuke Uchiha whipped through the air, knowing they would help him to grow stronger. He knew he would get the strength to defeat the man who slaughtered his clan. Itachi Uchiha. His "big brother."

**‡**

The time had come for the ending of Naruto's training with Iruka. Kurenai had spirited herself away under an Illusionary technique, knowing that Naruto might not appreciate her interference with Iruka, his closest and _only_ friend.

Her ebony hair itched at her shoulders lightly, and Kurenai considered pulling it back into a ponytail as she did in her ANBU days. She shook her head lightly. She had promised herself she wouldn't think about the ANBU, about all of the blood that had been spilt. All the comrades she had lost.

But it was of no consequence. She would not lose her team, she thought sullenly. She noticed the time, and that Naruto had not yet left Iruka's tutelage for her own training session. Hopefully Iruka would send him over promptly.

The time was 08:59, and a steady countdown of seconds had begun in Kurenai's head. 'Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine…'

Kurenai vanished from the spot in a fluster of leaves, and a whistle of wind. It was time for Team One's first training session. She span as she dropped to the ground in front of Sakura, who fumbled with the scroll and pushed it into her bag.

Sakura stood at attention, and saluted Kurenai. "Good morning, Kurenai-sensei!" She chirped happily.

"Good morning Sakura-kun." Kurenai nodded in response, finding Sasuke's chakra signature approaching at a high-speeded pace. The boy appeared in a moment, and he let his hands slip into his pockets. It was a habit he had to replace his nervous habit- biting his nails. Having hands in your pocket would make you appear nonchalant and cool, a quality that Sasuke thought was desirable. The boy bowed his head in greeting, a gesture Kurenai returned gracefully. He stood next to Sakura, with a grunt of "Morning."

"Morning Sasuke-kun! How did you sleep? Did you find the area alright? As predicted Naruto is last, neh?" Sakura blabbered, the appearance of her crush completely blanking out her resolve to treat her team-mates with equal respect. Kurenai frowned.

She would need to give the girl a 'one-on-one' session if this attitude persisted. Especially if Sakura made a remark like that to Naruto's face. 'I'll leave it for now.' Kurenai decided peaceably knowing that 'girls will be girls,' and that there was no point in getting involved before it was time.

After all, Kurenai was infamous for having _good_ luck unlike 'Tsunade The Legendary Sucker', and she would let the situation play out before she revealed her hand, just like she always did.

"Well, Team One. This will be our first official day of training." Kurenai said, putting Naruto out of her mind. He knew the times, and he knew he had to keep commitments. 'I'm not going to wait for him.' She thought stubbornly, knowing full well that being soft would not help him progress.

Sasuke and Sakura were clearly eager, their eyes were alert and they were standing at attention. However where Sakura's eyes were eager for knowledge and a chance to impress Sasuke, the Uchiha's eyes were blank and dull. Kurenai finished her quick analysis, knowing full well that Sasuke had been more affected by the Uchiha massacre than he had let on.

He had his own personal madness to deal with, and she would make sure to help him. "It's nice to be able to call myself a teacher, after all, I've desired to become one since my own days as an Academy student." Kurenai continued as she felt Naruto's chakra _finally _start to make it's way to them.

"You wanted to be a teacher?" Sakura said curiously. She let Sasuke's allure drift from her mind, as Kurenai-sensei was clearly more important. "No offence, but _why_?"

Kurenai stared at the girl and laughed dryly, "Sakura being a teacher has it's own reward."

The pink-haired girl seemed non-plussed, and Sasuke looked bored. 'Who cares about her past?' Sasuke thought with resentment, 'I'd be better off alo-'

"Yo! Naruto Uzumaki at your service!" roared a bubbly squeaky voice. Sasuke felt his blood pressure build, his annoyance at not even being able to finish a thought growing.

"Naruto!" Kurenai greeted with a smile, "you're late! And for your first training session too." She shook her head lightly, "it's a habit you need to remove. I won't stand for bad punctuality."

"I'm sorry Kurenai-sensei," Naruto mumbled, rubbing his back, "my training ran over what it was supposed to."

Sasuke snorted in disbelief, 'the idiot trains?'

Kurenai ignored Sasuke's behaviour and continued chiding the blond. "You arrived late, so you will stay late. I won't accept you being late for _either _of your appointments."

Naruto squinted at Kurenai in a fox-like way, before answering her with a "humph!"

Kurenai gave a heaving sigh. "What I would like to do for our training today is discuss ourselves, get to know each other and get some physical training done." Kurenai said, deflated for having to already scold a member of her team. "Any questions?"

Sakura raised her hand, asking as she did so, "By physical training do you mean combat, athleticism or obstacles?"

Kurenai considered her for a moment. "I mean… All of them."

"But-but we'd be exhausted!" Sakura moaned lightly, earning a small grin from her teacher.

"Yes, but exhaustion is the way forward right now." She answered cryptically, taking a step back and sitting on the floor. She rubbed a crease out of her dress as she sat neatly before the three of them while they each sat in front of her.

Sakura sat to the left. Naruto sat in the centre. Sasuke sat on the right. Between each of the ninja-in-training was a space of exactly two feet of room.

Kurenai noticed this, and she gave a measuring look to Sasuke and Sakura. 'It's enough room for them to not be caught together in an attack, yet it's close enough to help out Naruto, their central weakness.' Even if this wasn't intentional, they _would_ make a good team, Kurenai noted.

"Moving on," The red-eyed illusionary specialist began, "I'd like to ask you some questions, mainly what you enjoy doing, what you dislike, what you like, your hobbies and your dreams for the future."

Sakura began to speak, but Kurenai cut her off.

"I'd like you to each spend five minutes formulating what you think is a valuable answer." She said with a hint of a smile, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto immediately fell onto his back, before groaning with pain.

Sasuke let his body slouch forward as he began to think on his answer.

Sakura sat straight, she let her brain shoot into overdrive. "Sasuke, Naruto," she said calmly "why do you think Kurenai-sensei left?"

"So we could think?" Naruto answered her. He had rolled onto his stomach and was rubbing his back with a pained expression.

"There's more to it than that." Sakura dismissed his argument within a moment, while Sasuke looked on with shock on his face.

'I'd never thought more on Kurenai's question… Maybe Sakura's right? If she is, then she's more capable than me!' Sasuke's eyes widened in horror. "Maybe she wants us to discuss it?" He blurted out, hoping he could answer before either other Genin.

Naruto glanced at him before shrugging, "why would she want that?"

"So that we would begin functioning as a Team!" Sakura pieced together, "Kurenai-sensei had given me a scroll suggesting the benefits of teamwork yesterday."

"Kurenai gave you a scroll?" Sasuke said doubtfully, "I don't remember getting a scroll."

"You weren't there Uchiha." Naruto drawled, "Sakura and me got tons of ninja-stuff!"

"… Have you even _read _your scroll Uzumaki?" Sasuke said with the beginnings of a smirk.

"…"

The clearing was silent, as the three ninja-in-training were ashamed of Naruto's laziness.

The blond moaned loudly. "The _one _time reading pays off, and I don't bother!"

Sakura's facial expression could only be described as scandalised. She opened her mouth to speak, and she screeched out her scholarly heart. Naruto winced for a moment, before looking to Sasuke who seemed to be resistant to her cringe-worthy voice.

Sasuke's eyes had glossed over, and his mental state had retreated into his 'happy place', only receiving Sakura's volatile moans as white noise.

Kurenai watched her team along with Iruka, under a simple illusion that made them temporarily invisible. Of course, with Kurenai's control 'temporary' could last well up to three hours while she remained immobile. She shared a quizzical look with Iruka, wondering exactly how the team would function before patiently waiting for the last two minutes to play out.

**‡**

Kurenai stood before her three students, while Iruka observed them from his spot on a tall tree. He continued to make notes, while he observed the children he had helped to train.

"So, we'll start with you. Naruto, what do you enjoy doing? What do you dislike? What do you like? What are your hobbies? What are your dreams for the future?"

Naruto scrambled out of his lazy position, and moved to sit forward eagerly. "I enjoy… Yesterday I enjoyed training with Kurenai-sensei and Sakura-chan!" Kurenai's eyes flashed in surprise, but otherwise she was controlled.

"I dislike…" He made a face of disgust, "I disliked training my chakra control with Iruka." Iruka felt his cheeks redden, while Kurenai stifled a grin. "My hobbies are to try different types of ramen! And my dream for the future is to be the village's Hokage!"

Kurenai grinned broadly at him, "you've definitely grown up in an interesting way," she remarked kindly, "Sakura would you please continue?"

Sakura looked nervous as she began to speak about herself, "I enjoy keeping up with fashion trends…" She glanced expectantly at Kurenai, expecting a reprimand. There was none. She carried on while apprehensively playing with her hair, "I dislike…" She thought for a moment, and a playful glint people who don't understand the value of studying!" She gave Naruto a filthy look while Sasuke snorted with humour, and Naruto yelped, taken-aback. "I like talking with Sasuke-kun, and my hobby is to read romance novels-" Sakura stopped abruptly realising that her dream was the last remaining point. "My dream is to grow stronger, to gain a certain somebody's attention." She said shyly, 'if I tell everyone that my dream is to be Mrs. Sakura Uchiha, then it might scare Sasuke-kun away!'

Sasuke stared at the girl in disbelief, before taking Kurenai's nod as a cue to divulge his own information. "I enjoy training. I dislike most things. I like training. My hobby is to train. My dream, no… My _ambition_ is to destroy one man and to re-create the Uchiha clan." He did not stop once in his explanation, and he held a glare from underneath his long fringe which contained a small amount of killing intent.

Kurenai couldn't withhold her frown, and she introduced herself as well, "I enjoy many things, I dislike many things, I like many things, I have many hobbies, and I have a dream," she concluded with a satisfied smile.

"EH!?" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed, "we didn't learn anything about you sensei!"

"You didn't?" Kurenai replied with mock-surprise, "then find out the answers to these questions!"

Sasuke offered her an inquisitive glance. Naruto squinted, his brain moving at a snail's pace. Sasuke sighed with reluctance, predicting what would be coming next.

"It's your first mission."

Iruka smiled at the group's antics below him, as Sakura and Naruto looked clueless and Sasuke seemed to be cursing the world. 'I'll do my best to help Naruto catch up with them.' He vowed mentally, 'I can be the support he needs.'

Kurenai gathered her patience and then began on what her mind had dubbed 'the journey into the unknown.' "A ninja's job in society is to do missions for the people of it's village," she began, gauging the reactions of her three students. Sakura was nodding, Sasuke was clearly letting his mind wander, and Naruto was…

Climbing a tree.

Or attempting to, at any rate.

"Naruto. Come here. Sit," Kurenai commanded imperiously to which the blond responded with a glare. "You can train later! You sit here, and you listen, now." Her tone left little room for disobedience, and Naruto found himself kneeling at her feet once again. "Good. Focus."

He nodded, his mind clearly elsewhere.

Kurenai sighed internally, understanding Iruka's pain. How could you teach an 'Aspiring Hokage' who had no desire to stick to what she would teach? She knew of his short attention span, and she knew of his raw power.

And she did something that she did _not_ normally do, and she made a split decision.

"On second thought, Naruto, go and train," she said, already hating this new plan. The boy leapt to his feet with gaining control of his power on the brain. "After all, this lesson is really only made for people with the ability of Sakura and Sasuke."

As expected, she was rewarded a look that showed unadulterated disgust. "Hey! I can do everything they can do! And better!"

Sakura and Sasuke looked unbothered by his outburst, already used to his turbulent behaviour. Sasuke however could not let this chance slip from him, "is that why you're the dead last? Is that why Sakura and I are each the top of our respective strengths within the class, and that the only subject you could even _pass _was moulding chakra?"

Naruto had no retort that could remotely harm Sasuke in the same way, and he had no way of conveying his said superiority. Facts did not lie.

"Right. So I can't claim to be the top of the class! But I can do a Jounin level ninja technique, that's forbidden to boot!" The boy yelled back, conjuring a dozen Shadow Clones who each moved to attack Sasuke, with fists raised.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed, she whipped one hand into her equipment pouch and drew ninja-wire which was readily attached to a kunai. With her other hand she formed a one handed seal, managing to draw her chakra into a technique that would fool the many Naruto's vision. They each ran at a tree and began pummelling the bark, with the original Naruto looking on in confusion.

She finally let loose her other hand, tossing it at one of the surrounding trees before Iruka whisked it from the air, and sped around the tree to tie the Naruto clones in one place. Iruka used a standard ninja technique to knot the wire in place, while Kurenai gave Naruto a strange look that he had never seen before.

"Naruto, I'm ashamed of your behaviour. I thought you were better than that." The boy who had built such a presence in her life within such a short time had already shattered her conception of him. She had assumed him misunderstood, and innocent. She thought that while he had been ignored, that his growth would only be stunted rather than impaired.

But clearly, Naruto was far too quick to anger. And despite the fact that Sasuke's verbal abuse been used with the intention of aggravating him, Naruto had responded all too readily to the insult.

"I will have to speak to you about your use of the Shadow Clone technique Naruto," Kurenai said gently, "not only was your use of it sloppy and manipulated through anger, but your use of it was not what is intended by the Shadow Clone's inventor."

Through all of this, Sasuke and Sakura sat laced with shock at how easily Kurenai had dealt with what appeared to be _solid_ clones. Sasuke's eyes found Naruto with a new respect, despite Naruto's intention to pummel him. 'He can produce a forbidden technique? Was he holding back at the Academy?'

"I only learnt this technique last night!" Naruto responded weakly.

Sasuke sweat dropped, 'Maybe not.'

"Do you expect me to be a master already?" Naruto continued on, his head hung in shame.

"If you aren't a _master _why did you use it at all?!" Kurenai replied, obviously aggravated.

Naruto jumped with her voice suddenly being raised, not used to the normally calm woman exuding such a dangerous aura.

"Never _ever _use a technique you don't know how to use!" She flipped through a few hand seals before activating a technique. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" She funnelled an orange ball of fire from her lips in a controlled roaring flame, which completely annihilated the clones within moments, melting the wire, and burning the tree to a cinder. The clones had poofed away in a smoky haze, while the tree cooked under the flame in front of the shocked Genin.

"My team was eliminated due to a stupid mistake from a rookie ninja, who thought they were better than they really were." Kurenai said, her expression stony as the ruby flames reflected in her damp eyes. "There are only a few of us left from that original team. Three out of a squad of twelve."

Naruto lifted his head and looked back at her, not able to say anything but "Sorry."

Sakura and Sasuke, understanding the situation said nothing. What could they say?

Team One stayed silent, watching the fire die out and the ash of the tree stir under the winds of Fire Country. Kurenai turned to them, "I will make sure that each of you live while you are under my leadership. I will ensure that you all achieve the goals you spoke to me about." Her voice was shaky, but the tone was solid.

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei." Sakura replied tentatively.

"Iruka, would you do me a favour?" Kurenai asked softly, as she turned away from them again. The scarred Chunin looked at her inquisitively and gestured for her to elaborate. "Can you take Sasuke and Sakura on a run around Konoha's border?"

Iruka looked shocked, but gestured for the two to follow. The three of them left quickly, not wishing to see anymore of the uncomfortable scene.

"Naruto…" Kurenai muttered, "I want you to be Hokage. But in a team, you can't attack your comrades!"

The demon-container was stunned. "Kurenai-sensei, you just said I had no ability! Why would you want me to be Hokage?"

"Naruto I was using reverse psychology in an attempt to gain your attention, I used your own feeling of inadequacy and capitalised on you feeling this way." Kurenai admitted, "however what I said still holds an element of truth."

The boy gave her an even gaze, clearly wanting to be any place but there as he hated 'these types' of conversations. He despised people recognising his faults.

"You are, as an academic and in many other ways, inferior to Sasuke and Sakura," Kurenai said truthfully, "however as your teacher my aim is to make you all into a balanced squad."

Naruto squinted at her, and he tilted his head foxily. "So what you want is for all of us to make up for each other's bad points?"

"Exactly. That, and to make you all equal if you were to have to fight with each other." Kurenai revealed carefully, knowing that what she was about to tell Naruto could create an added sense of paranoia.

"But you said that you didn't _want _us to fight each other!" Naruto complained with confusion, hanging his head again.

"Naruto there are some ninja who decide to leave their squad, their village and everything else behind. That is an eventuality that we must be prepared for." Kurenai instructed, "some teachers for rookie teams don't bother telling their students, because they think that it would make them paranoid, or they hold their own skills too highly. However I believe that it's best that we're all prepared for every course of action a potential enemy make take."

"So… I should try to get stronger quickly, because there's a chance that Sasuke or Sakura would leave the village?" He asked dubiously, 'I know Sasuke's a bastard, but I doubt he'd ever leave the village. And Sakura would never even _consider_ it!'

"That is exactly it. Should they leave, you should try to stop them. And if you aren't always on par with them, you won't be able to keep them within the village." Kurenai said, thinking of a man who destroyed the life of a friend of hers. "I'll tell you a story to help you understand it easier: There was a team of three ninja, each of whom were incredibly versed in the art of summoning a different animal and in specific areas. They were all fairly close, and their partnership was said to be unparalleled."

"If they were so close, then why bother with the story?" Naruto asked, already bored.

"…" Kurenai continued, ignoring his complaints "but one of the ninja decided to leave the village for the sake of gaining power, and for doing forbidden experiments. His name was Orochimaru. His other team-mate Tsunade was said to be superior to him in strength, but weak to their other team-mate Jiraiya, and Jiraiya was weak to Orochimaru as they all held equal strengths and weaknesses in specific areas."

"So Tsunade stopped this Orochimaru guy then?" Naruto guessed in monotone.

"No. Tsunade had left the village on a solo-mission, leaving the chase of Orochimaru to Jiraiya." Kurenai corrected, "and Jiraiya was defeated as not only could he not bring himself to kill Orochimaru, but his techniques were weak against him anyway."

"So… Orochimaru escaped? Jiraiya was killed?"

"No. Jiraiya was defeated, and he left the village legally on a training mission. He now ventures to kill Orochimaru."

"But that's not too bad, nobody died! Even if Orochimaru escaped, nobody got hurt." Naruto said with blasé and a slight wave of a hand-gesture.

"Orochimaru is now an S-rank missing ninja who has killed countless Konoha ninja, destroyed numerous clans, and countered many of Konoha's missions due to his knowledge of the village's ways and plans." Kurenai said darkly, "not only that, but he along with a few others is listed in many village's Bingo Books as 'flee on sight', as it's rumoured that if he catches you, then you will suffer a fate worse than death at his hands."

Naruto gulped audibly, "So what's this Jiraiya guy waiting for? And Tsunade! They both have the strength to beat him right?"

"Wrong. Tsunade's been missing-in-action for over fifteen years, also abandoning the village. And Jiraiya _may _have the strength to defeat Orochimaru, but Orochimaru has many ninja at his disposal, as well as many secret techniques which he developed outside of Konoha's sight. He also has spies within Konoha, keeping track of numerous ninja who he deems to be threats to him."

"How? So much trouble from one failed fight?" Naruto asked dismally, "and you think that we should all be prepared for something like this?"

"The answer to both questions is yes." At his look of dismay, she laughed lightly, "but don't worry. My aim is to make you, Sakura and Sasuke all equal in every way."

His look of horror was impossible to miss.

"Oh yes, you seem to have realised it."

"No Kurenai-sensei, please! I beg you! Anything but… but…"

"I apologise Naruto, but you still have to learn to control your chakra more efficiently."

**‡**

Sasuke, Sakura and Iruka all jogged around the boundaries of Konoha's jurisdiction at a fast pace, and were currently as far from Konoha's training grounds as one could be while still being safely on Konoha's border.

"NOOOOOO!"

However all three ninja still heard a howl of misery which seemed to originate from the third member of Team One, known as Naruto Uzumaki.


	3. Chapter 3

**‡**

**Summary: Sarutobi has an epiphany the day Itachi leaves Konoha. He is busy thinking of who could manage to defeat the crazed owner of the Sharingan. When all of a sudden... It hits him. The last being that could halt shinobi in their tracks? Kyuubi. He felt satisfied, knowing that he could entrust the future Hokage the job of annihilating the most dangerous criminal Konoha has ever seen. He lifts Naruto's file from the Academy Records. He changes them. And by doing so, he creates the strongest user of Genjutsu that Konoha will ever see.**

**Disclaimer: He owns nothing, the boy owns nothing! **

Previously: Kurenai started Team One in their training, while Iruka began to train Naruto independently. Kurenai informed Naruto that she wanted all of Team One to be equal in strength. Naruto wept while cursing Sakura for the first time- he hated chakra control training.

**‡**

Naruto had been up since 06:00 AM working on his chakra control, and he was exhausted. He had fallen on his back more than… more than…

'Something that falls down _a _lot.' He finished his thought decisively, squinting his eyes and nodding firmly. Naruto wondered when Iruka-sensei would turn up, and he longingly spared a looked at the clock he had set up a on a nearby rock.

It read 06:17.

The blond moaned softly, pulling at his hair. 'At this rate I'll self-harm!' He moaned internally. But nevertheless, he steeled himself, and channelled chakra to his feet.

"Let's rumble, tree! I'll take you down!" He sped towards the tree, and up the bark. He didn't bother to count his footsteps anymore. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his chakra flare, and he slashed at the tree's bark to mark his progress.

He'd realised that he couldn't tell if he was getting better or not. The kunai marks were his _revolutionary _way of telling how high he was getting. His latest mark showed a much improved run, and he had clearly almost reached the top of the tree!

He grinned to himself, before landing in a crouch. Dust unsettled around his feet as his eyes narrowed at the mark, and the blond gathered his thoughts.

'I can manage to go far up the tree without problems when I don't think of _anything_.' He rubbed his chin in consideration. 'I'm a "dead-last" so it shouldn't be too hard to empty my mind." He thought dryly, before channelling chakra to his feet again, and taking off on another high-speed run.

Had there been a bystander, they would have been witness to what Naruto would consider his greatest achievement to date. He had finally reached the top.

"I did it! Yeah!"

**‡**

Sakura stumbled to her feet with a loud yawn, her body protesting to her movement. Kurenai had commanded that Sakura wake at 07:00 for two extra hours of physical conditioning.

She remembered protesting vehemently, despising physical training, thinking 'I don't want icky muscles, yuck!' But she had then realised that Sasuke didn't want a "weak" girl.

If being… _butch_… (she suppressed a shudder) was what it would take, then the pinkette would grasp her future muscled body with open arms.

That wasn't the only upside: Sasuke-kun would meet her one hour into her training! He seemed reluctant, but he caved into Kurenai's demand eventually.

'Probably due to _my_ presence!' Sakura thought with a giggle. She frowned slightly at her normal clothes for a minute, before picking pink shorts and a pink and blue decorated vest instead of her regular red dress. Her usual skirt's flapping during her run with Iruka and Sasuke was irritating for her legs.

She nodded happily at her clothes, before walking into her bathroom to wash. She was already off of her schedule.

'I'd better be quick, or I might miss Sasuke at the rendezvous!'

**‡**

Sasuke formed chakra within his gullet, quickly using the hand seals that his family's death had burned into him forever. He converted the chakra into fire within his mouth, spiting an enormous ball towards a training dummy he had set up in his garden.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball!" His voice gurgled through the flames, his dull onyx eyes reflecting the orange inferno. He let the embers die from his mouth, and he managed to stifle the gag-reflex that spitting fire gave a ninja. He knelt down in front of the open scroll he had left at his feet, and looked over his latest technique. He had been practising his fire element so he could progress through the Uchiha training scrolls.

THIS TECHNIQUE IS UNIQUE TO THE UCHIHA CLAN, AND IT MARKS THE BEGINNING OF AN UCHIHA'S TRAINING. SHOULD THE NINJA LEARN THIS TECHNIQUE, THEY WILL BE ALLOWED ACCESS TO FURTHER BASIC FIRE TECHNIQUES.

Sasuke nodded, before doing as the scroll instructed.

'Gather the chakra in your gullet.' He channelled his energy.

'Begin the hand seal combination.' He flipped through numerous hand seals.

'State the technique name.' "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower!"

'Push the chakra to your mouth and convert it.' Sasuke ripped the chakra from his throat, the coarse flame building inside of him.

'Release! Repeat all instructions other than the technique name.'

He shot the fire from his mouth, repeating the orders, the garden littered with small blazing balls of fire.

The training dummy stood no chance.

**‡**

Naruto lay asleep against the tree, drool trailing from his smiling slumber. He was unaware of the approaching shadow, unaware of the presence beside him.

A presence… hidden inside a box?

"Naruto!"

The blond opened his eyes slowly, and he looked around to see the owner of the voice.

"What the…"

"Naruto!"

The blond checked the area observantly, noticing no one. 'The forest is clear, the only thing that's wrong is this box.' He considered the box for a moment, before deciding that the cream-brown coloured cuboid was not worth his attention.

"Naruto, you were fooled by my amazing deceptive technique!" A high-pitched voice called from within.

"Konohamaru? What are you doing in a box?" Naruto asked blandly, "Don't worry; your headwear isn't _that_ bad."

A growl of youthful anger was heard from within, along with a fumbling.

Naruto looked on as the box flopped around the woods with a sweat drop, 'Now this is just sad,' he thought to himself with mirth. Konohamaru continued to struggle with his escape plan while the bell on Naruto's clock finally rang. It was 08:00.

"Konohamaru? Can you beat it? I normally wouldn't mind you being here, but I have a training session." Naruto asked, quickly bored.

The thrashing of Konohamaru's box quickened in pace and grew more violent.

Naruto yawned while he sat on a tree stump. 'I guess Iruka's trying to get back at me for being late yesterday.' He thought glumly.

So he began to wait.

And wait.

**‡**

"So, Itachi," A murky shadow of a figure said tentatively, "I hear you've been spying on Konoha's resident demon host."

"Yes." Replied Itachi in a dull monosyllabic answer. His red and black eyes betraying no emotion. Itachi stood in a small cave-like room with seven shadowed figures, each in a smoky haze. Itachi was enrobed in a long black hooded cloak, with red clouds adorning the shapeless cloth. His mid-length dark hair was kept in strangely good condition, considering that he was a man running from ANBU everyday.

"What more can you tell us then?" The shadow queried, an underlying threat in his tone.

"He has been assigned as a Konoha Genin under the tutelage of Kurenai Yuuhi, rookie Jounin," Itachi complied, "his team-mates consist of Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha."

"Your younger brother? I hope no conflict will arise when you retrieve the fox Itachi," another shadowed form remarked with a snort, "after all, you don't want to have to kill him, _yeah_?"

"Silence Deidara," the first shadow commanded imperiously, "I wonder what Sarutobi is thinking, giving Namikaze's legacy to some rookie-nobody."

"The best of ninja are sometimes the ones you know the least of, I'm sure you appreciate _that_ Leader-sama," Itachi said plainly, referring to the fact that the first shadowed figure was a relative unknown to the ninja world.

"Are you implying she's a threat?" The leader replied, "I doubt she would be any trouble for a God such as myself."

"She is no threat to Akatsuki," Itachi confirmed with a nod, "but among Konoha's Jounin she is known to be logical, a user of Genjutsu and the only survivor of _that _incident with the ANBU three years ago."

"Oh-ho? This will be interesting, that much is certain. Make sure to keep me updated, Itachi." The leader mused, his silver-ringed eyes meeting with Itachi's own.

"Now for you to carry on with your new task. We are to use Gatou Shipping Industries as a front for our finances in Akatsuki." The ringed-eyes hardened, promising pain should Itachi fail. "Your mission is to _persuade_ Gatou to our cause. Any means are deemed necessary. You are to meet Kisame at the normal rendezvous point, and you are to continue onto Wave Country where Gatou has been residing for the last year."

"I understand." Itachi confirmed, nodding and leaving quickly. The shadows disappeared, each vanishing without a trouble.

'Sasuke… This placement can't have been by accident. I wonder what Sarutobi is scheming." Itachi thought grimly, before heading to meet his shark-like partner Kisame.

**‡**

Naruto let out a tired yawn, before looking at the clock which read a horrifying 08:58.

"Crap, I won't be late for Kurenai twice!" He yelled with determination, before shooting off from the spot, leaving Konohamaru to continue to struggle in his escape.

The blond ninja bounced through the forest, his orange and navy jumpsuit a blur. He channelled chakra to his feet so he could run up a tree that stood in his way, rather than into it, and continued to the meeting spot.

The chakra automatically cut off with each raised foot, and came back with every footstep. Naruto had definitely mastered the tree-walking exerci-

His foot slipped, and at this moment he cursed his inherent clumsiness, and now he hated his lack of prior training.

"Aw crap."

He fell into a large bush with a fox-type yelp. 'I'm gonna be late again.' He thought sullenly picking twigs from his hair, and removing leaves from his clothes. He stumbled to his feet, before continuing at a slow jog.

Despite his "mastery" of the chakra efficiency exercise, he still couldn't perform like others of his age could. He knew Sasuke was adept at moving through trees, and that Sakura was also able.

And they knew, just as he did, that he could not. The only time he managed to jump through the trees (unhindered) was when he was influenced by the demon when Mizuki tried to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing, and that was when he moved on all-fours.

Maybe he couldn't move through the trees easily because he was too short. He scowled at the thought. Suddenly the smell of burnt oak met his nasal ducts, and he realised he was close by to the training ground.

He turned his jog into a sprint, and managed to arrive in time to hear Kurenai say something that piqued his interest.

"-oday I will teach you how to perform a basic illusionary technique."

"Awesome!" The blond roared, charging into the clearing.

His team-mates sighed and rolled their eyes at each other. However the two were clearly excited.

"Where've you been Naruto? I had to get started without you _again_."

The blond winced at her tone. Kurenai hadn't even tried to hide her disappointment.

"Kurenai-sensei, I was waiting for Iruka since eight this morning, and he didn't turn up! I lost track of time waiting," he said apologetically.

"I understand Naruto." Kurenai replied shortly, before gesturing him to stand next to Sasuke and Sakura.

'I won't be late, ever again!' Naruto vowed to himself.

"As I was saying, the Genjutsu you will learn today is just the moulding of the illusion," Kurenai continued before demonstrating one of many hand seals.

"The dog hand seal is what forms the first part of this illusion," Kurenai lectured, placing a flat hand on top of a clenched fist. "The dog is what give the illusion extra reality, and it conveys the image you create within your brain to the battlefield."

Her students all nodded once, and made the hand seal.

"This begins a technique that affects the enemy's eyesight, and by using one like this you could fool an enemy into doing just about anything," Kurenai said with a hint of a smirk. "Naruto, create a Shadow Clone so I can show you."

Naruto did as he was asked, creating a solid replica with a small fragment of his chakra.

Kurenai flipped through many hand seals before casting a Genjutsu at the clone, and the group watched as it began to walk in a daze around the clearing.

"What image did you project into the clone Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked in awe, while Naruto put the clone out of it's misery with a punch to the head.

"So… many… bunnies…" Naruto let out a shudder, while Kurenai looked at him curiously.

"I projected the image of millions of rabbits hopping around the clearing," she said with a hint of humour, "in a fight you would try to create an image that would distract or pain rather than using an abstract illusion like that." Kurenai sent Naruto a searching look, 'how did he know about the rabbits? I was unaware that you receive information from the Shadow Clones you dispel.'

She shook off the new-found knowledge she had regarding Naruto's favourite Ninjutsu and continued in her instruction. "The next seal is the serpent which represents rebirth and treachery. The use of the serpent seal is always necessary if you are attacking more than one of the enemy's senses. It is the one seal that can be used to completely re-create an enemy's senses, which makes it vital to the use of illusionary techniques."

The trio nodded again, committing this important knowledge to memory. A flicker of recognition passed on Naruto's face, as he thought back to the treacherous ninja that Kurenai mentioned the day before.

"The monkey seal is one that is supposed to stand for trickery and play on the person's balance. It can be adapted, through the use of the following seal to affect the enemy in different ways." Kurenai demonstrated the monkey seal, with her palms on top of the other.

Her students copied the seal, before doing a slow run-through of the hand seals she had already showed them. Sakura's hands smoothly worked through the seals at a fast pace, while Sasuke slowly moved through the unfamiliar combination. Naruto on the other hand watch the pair, before attempting it himself. He tried to incorporate the speed of Sakura with the precision of Sasuke, which only gave him clumsy results.

"Naruto," Sakura looked at him uncertainly, "you should move at your own pace. If you find hand seals hard, all you have to do is practice doing them until you find them easy!" She said with a smile. 'He's clearly _trying _hard. It's not his fault that we're better at this sort of stuff than him.'

Naruto flashed her a grin of embarrassment, before muttering a quick "Thanks Sakura-chan."

Kurenai watched the exchange with a small grin, glad she hadn't interfered with Sakura's treatment of Naruto before. It's better for people to grow unhindered after all.

"There are two more seals within the sequence, however… I'll tell you the last, but you have to decide for yourselves what you want the one before to be. Picking this hand seal will decide the purpose of the technique, and the effect it will have on enemies."

"Kurenai-sensei, I don't understand." Sasuke said flatly, "aren't all Genjutsu intended to incapacitate the enemy in order for you to finish them with a physical attack afterwards?"

"You misunderstood the statement, Sasuke," Kurenai said lightly, "what you say is correct in some ways, but it is too linear a thought. After using an illusion, you can recuperate with a healing technique, build up power for a Ninjutsu, flee from the battle, and more. There are no limits to your actions in a fight."

Sasuke nodded in acceptance.

"Moreover, that is the purpose of using Genjutsu. The purpose I was referring to is the purpose of using _that_ particular technique. Would it be to fool the opponent's hearing? Their sense of smell? Both? The next seal in the sequence would decide this." Kurenai said, "the effect of the technique would be how the purpose of the technique would help you in the encounter."

"… Such as?" Sasuke replied, 'this training is a bit too talky for my liking.' The Uchiha thought impatiently.

"In pursuit of an enemy, a heavy ninja may cast an illusion on the enemy to change their sense of hearing. Rather than hearing the ninja's approach, they may continue to hear the wildlife around them, or _even_ create a fake approach from the opposite direction to confuse them." Kurenai responded readily, "this would make them more vulnerable to attack."

Sasuke nodded in acceptance, while Sakura and Naruto continued to run through the seals.

Kurenai opened the box lying next to her to withdraw six scrolls. Half of the scrolls were wrapped with a blue ribbon, the other half were wrapped with a red ribbon. She gave Team One a scroll of each.

"What are these for, Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked, her intrigue building. '_I'm a Genjutsu type after all! I'll be awesome_!'

"The blue scroll contains the current frame of seals for the technique, while the red scroll shows what the gap can be filled with." Kurenai explained, while she began to stretch her leg muscles. "Your assignment for today will be to select a theoretical hand seal to fit into the sequence."

Her budding illusionists nodded with zest, each excited to deceive the other.

'I'll make Sakura believe I'm better than Sasuke!' Naruto thought with excitement.

'I'll make Sasuke fall in love with me!' Sakura sighed with rose-tinted vision.

'I'll make those two losers focus more on being ninja!' Sasuke pondered briefly, 'Nah, I'd rather make Itachi think he'd lost his testicles.'

"Now, let's stop thinking of Genjutsu for now, and continue on with our physical enhancement." Kurenai said, finishing her last stretch. "Sakura, Sasuke, did you two do your set stamina training this morning?"

"Yes Kurenai-sensei!" The two responded synchronised.

"Good. Because now, we're going to be doing muscle-building and fitness!" Kurenai announced, while Sakura groaned. "Leave your belongings here, I'll leave a watchman." Kurenai said, before biting her thumb to use blood in her next technique. She flicked through several hand seals, and finished the technique with an exclamation of "Summoning Technique!"

A large, fat robin appeared through a puff of smoke. It was enormous for a robin, that much was certain. It was easily taller than Team One, and reached up to Kurenai's shoulders at full height. Its girth was more surprising, as it's appearance had destroyed a few sets of trees in the forest.

Its eyes were beady and black, while it's beak was a deep orange. Its breast was a deep red, while the rest of it's body was an Autumn-auburn shade that stood out among the vibrant green undergrowth.

"Greetings, Kurenai-san." The robin rumbled in an extremely deep voice, which definitely startled the Genin.

"Good morning Komadori-kun! You've gotten big!" Kurenai said in surprise, stroking the top of his feathered head.

Komadori let out a rumbling laugh, before he replied "I've been working towards being a main combat summon! The boss is training me personally herself!" The pride in his voice was obvious.

"Great job Komadori! Can I ask you to do me a favour?" Kurenai asked with a smile.

The robin nodded slowly in response,

"Can you keep watch on those belongings over there? We'll be back in a couple of hours." Kurenai promised.

Komadori nodded again, slightly exasperated.

"I promise, next time I'll use you for combat purposes." Kurenai vowed, stroking his auburn head again. The robin gave a whistle of approval, and she led the group of ninja-in-training away.

"Kurenai-sensei! That was amazing!" Naruto said, clearly awestruck.

"I know, Naruto. I know."

"Kurenai-sensei, what _was_ that?" Sakura asked with amazement, and while Sasuke did not say anything, he didn't have to.

His gaze followed the graceful figure in front of him, and he knew she was more capable than she had let on. His onyx eyes narrowed, 'She said she was a rookie Jounin, but she's easily on par with the elite! So far she's shown that she can use Fire techniques, Summons and Illusions. I wonder what more she has stored up her sleeve.'

"_That _was Komadori, one of the Bird Summons that belong to Konoha," Kurenai said, "only a select few have a contract to summon."

"How did you get yours?" Naruto asked curiously, "did you have to pay for it?"

Kurenai laughed, "My teacher gave it to me when he thought I was ready."

"But," Sasuke began, "what about the rest of your team? Didn't they get anything?"

"They were all wiped out," Kurenai replied shortly, "part of it was due to the Nine Tailed Fox, the other part was murder."

"Apologies, Kurenai-sensei," Sasuke said carefully.

"That's alright Sasuke," Kurenai smiled at him. "You don't have to worry, after all by my age, every ninja's lost someone."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked with a frown.

Kurenai nodded in reply.

"I don't like it Kurenai-sensei! I'll do my best to make sure everyone I care about stays alive!" Naruto said determinedly.

'That boy is so naïve,' Kurenai mused with a hint of a smile. 'You'd have liked him Kenpachi-sensei; his innocence is not yet marred by the experiences of a ninja.'

Sakura laughed at Naruto, while Sasuke smirked slightly, and Team One continued on.

Kurenai shook off her reminiscence, "Come on Team! Keep your knees high!" She called, "we have a long way to go yet!"

**‡  
**

Sakura returned home after training, feeling her leg and arm muscles screaming in pain. With a groan, she forced herself up the stairs of her two-story home to her room. She yawned, and walked through her bedroom into her personal bathroom.

It had been two weeks since her training had begun, and Kurenai had steadily been wearing the team out. Sakura turned the taps of her bath, and poured a lather into the water to create a heavy, perfumed foam. She slowly sank into the warm depths, 'this feels great!' she thought to herself as she let her eyes close in exhaustion.

Her chakra reserves were almost completely drained, and as such Kurenai had given her the next week off of training, saying instead that they would perform their first missions- which according to Ino-pig didn't take any effort anyway.

'I don't envy Ino,' Sakura thought with a small smile, 'I love my Team… Sasuke-kun's a no-brainer, Kurenai-sensei's so wise, and Naruto's…' She opened her eyes for a moment, and she thought back on how hard he had been trying. 'He's grown on me.'

It was the first time since her friendship with Ino at the Academy that Sakura felt true acceptance, and for that, she was happy.

**‡**

Sasuke rubbed his burning limbs as he entered his clan house. He didn't feel immensely tired, but he hadn't trained himself to this extent in a long time. He was grateful to get out of Konoha's hot sun, (his pale skin had been burnt to a pale pink) and he headed straight for the shower.

Sasuke dropped his sweat-sodden clothes into the washing basket, flicked the switch and moved under the hot running water, feeling his tension leave him and his muscles loosen enough to lose their tension. His dark hair flattened slightly under the pressure of the water, but it never did completely. 'That's one of the quirks of being an Uchiha,' Sasuke thought scornfully, 'Our hair won't flatten, but we can all be eliminated in one night by a teenager.'

Sasuke's hands had blood on them- he had hit a training post too hard.

'All eliminated except me.'

Sasuke had felt his mind wander from his self-assigned task of killing the man who ruined his life while he had been with Team One. 'Such a thing can never happen again.' He thought stubbornly, 'they're a tool.' He convinced himself.

However this self-assurance didn't stop Sasuke from remembering the day he had spent with his team, and the progress they had made. Sasuke continued to brood over his vengeance, while the blood from his hand was washed down the plug-hole in a spiralling scarlet whirlpool.

**‡**

Naruto walked into his apartment with a sigh. His stamina had definitely helped him in the endurance training, so much so, that he barely felt tired. Naruto washed his face, before putting some instant ramen on to cook. It would be a long three minute wait until he could eat. But until then, he would think- Kurenai-sensei placed importance in thinking.

Something bothered Naruto about the day's events. The blond reflected over what Team One had got covered in their training, and he remembered that Iruka had never turned up for their meeting. It was late though, and Konoha's afternoon sun was setting. It would be too late to ask Iruka now, he would have to wait until tomorrow.

Well, if Iruka-sensei turned up, anyway.

The three minute alarm was set off, and Naruto sat up from his chair and moved over to the oven. He slipped the plastic cover off, before letting out a long relaxed sigh.

**‡**

It was a bright sunny morning in Konoha, and Kurenai's "Team One" had all been withdrawn from training temporarily. The three of them had been instructed to meet at a small restaurant near Konoha's market place. The shop was handily equidistant between all of the Team's members, while also serving a good quality of service and product.

Kurenai had chosen the location carefully, and knew that such a place would reduce irritation to the Team, and also promote their likelihood of being punctual.

And they all were.

They had all met at the set time of 09:30 at the restaurant's door, Sakura sporting wraps around her ankles, Sasuke who embarrassedly kept his gaze fixed on the floor (hoping that if he didn't see people, they would not see him- and his sunburns,) and Naruto who had approached with a small frown.

"Good morning Team One, how are you all feeling today?" She asked, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards at Sasuke's embarrassment. Her deep red eyes found Sakura's newly applied medical gauze and she felt her heart swell with pride.

"Doing fine, Kurenai-sensei," Team One responded in unison.

"Great, now let's get breakfast and, after that, we'll head on to get our mission." Kurenai announced, "this will give your bodies time to recover from it's recent increase in stress, and let you begin to experience a ninja's lifestyle." She placer her hands firmly on Sasuke and Sakura's shoulders, "Order four glasses of water, I'll be inside in a minute." She steered them to the doorway, and the pair walked in together (albeit with minor confusion.)

Sakura's jade eyes chanced a glance outside through the glass pane of the doorway, and she saw Kurenai talking to the frowning blond. The pinkette arched an eyebrow and pondered the situation, before continuing after Sasuke. They approached the counter, and she let him order the drinks before they in the brightly-light café.

Sasuke let Sakura sit before he did, and he moved to sit beside her. "Sakura, what do you think they're talking about? Why does Kurenai always talk to Naruto alone?"

Sakura ran a hand through her glossy hair, before applying the purple hairclip she had used the day before. Her hair was in the way. "I'm not sure Sasuke-kun. But Naruto didn't look entirely happy. And maybe she has to tend to him because he's the weakest rookie? She might feel responsible for him."

Sasuke grunted in acceptance, "that's a definite possibility, but Naruto's _not _incapable. You know that as well as me, after all, he outran the both of us in the endurance training, and he was able to use his chakra to increase his speed."

"He could?" Sakura said, surprised. "I never noticed."

"I could feel small fluxes of chakra run through his muscles… I could see it." Sasuke revealed, with a slight blush. Sakura guessed that he was embarrassed that he had let something that sounded so _illogical_ slip.

"That's interesting Sasuke-kun. It makes me want to research into locating and sensing chakra." Sakura mused, before sipping from her glass. She peered through the wide bay window of the café, "hey, where did Kurenai-sensei and Naruto go?"

Sasuke offered her a blank look. "Maybe she had to take him somewhere. We should wait here for them to come back."

"Right."

**‡**

"What? How could this have happened?" Naruto asked heatedly, "didn't Mizuki-sensei get executed?"

"Naruto, I'm afraid that he was not. He was kept locked up in Konoha's prison as he was under suspicion of working with a dangerous missing ninja." Came the reply.

"But Old Man! Iruka- he-" Naruto responded desperately.

"Naruto, Iruka is a ninja. He volunteered for the mission, and while he's overdue, it does not mean you should worry about him." The Old Man replied, taking a drag from his tobacco.

"But he was meant to be back the morning after! He's a day late!" Naruto argued, stomping to emphasise his point.

"Naruto, know your place. You're talking with the Hokage, and being rude will get you nowhere." Kurenai muttered out of the side of her mouth.

The Hokage noticed this, and he allowed a shaky smile. "Kurenai, I'm setting you a C rank mission. You are to investigate Iruka's status, but are not to get into any combat situation."

"Understood Hokage-sama!" Kurenai responded in shock.

"I would not normally assign a rookie team like Team One a C rank mission, however this is one that is personal. I'm glad you came to see me Kurenai, Naruto." The Hokage nodded at the pair with a weary grin.

"Thank you for your praise, Sarutobi-sama." Kurenai bowed briefly, "Naruto you are to fetch Sasuke and Sakura. Tell them the circumstances of the mission, leave no details out. We will need to be prepared for combat, however we should not expect it. Upon your arrival I want you to take an inventory of all of the supplies that we have as a Team." Naruto nodded, confirming he understood the order. "Dismissed!" The orange blur shot from her, and began to bounce all the way through town.

Kurenai nodded to the Hokage, before beginning to leave herself. "-Kurenai." She stopped, and turned back to him. "Be careful, we don't know Mizuki's motives. I'm sending you because I know how worried Naruto is, and I understand that this will be the only way for him to cope in case the worst has happened."

"So you believe Iruka is already dea-" Kurenai began with wide eyes.

"It's a possibility." The Hokage interrupted her grimly, "I'd like for you to find Asuma, I believe that his team will provide help for you in case you run into trouble."

"Thank you." Kurenai said sincerely, "in all honesty, I was slightly worried. This is a lot of pressure." She admitted lightly. Sarutobi nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry. I'm even in the process of calling back ANBU Squad Delta from their border patrol so they can sweep the area," Sarutobi said comfortingly, "But Kurenai, never let down your guard." His warning was clear.

"Understood, Hokage-sama!"

**‡**


End file.
